


Burnt Cinnamon Roll

by icandrawamoth



Series: I Love Rose Tico Week [2]
Category: Star Wars RPF
Genre: Conventions, Fans, Female Friendship, Friendship, Gen, Happy Ending, Light Angst, Phone Calls & Telephones, RPF, Work Contains Fan(s) or Fandom(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-12
Updated: 2018-06-12
Packaged: 2019-05-21 13:34:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 740
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14916306
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/icandrawamoth/pseuds/icandrawamoth
Summary: After everything she's gone through, Kelly is hesitant to attend Celebration Chicago.





	Burnt Cinnamon Roll

**Author's Note:**

> For I Love Rose Tico week day two, Kelly Marie Tran love. I can't make edits or do art, so here's a friendly little piece of rpf. Kelly is so precious, and I hope she sees more of these kinds of real fans. <3

“Of course you don't _have_ to come,” Daisy assures her gently. “I just wanted you to know: there are so many people who want to see you there. Fans who love you, little girls and boys who see Rose as a hero. I know it doesn't really help, but you're not the only one who's had to go through this crap, K. The haters are loud, but don't let theirs be the only voices you hear, all right?”

Kelly closes her eyes, grip tightening on her phone. She knows her friend is right, knows Daisy has been where she is now. And she _knows_ , she really does, that there are people out there who love Rose and who love her. She's seen and heard them, too. But it's just so hard not to see hear the negative comments, the vitriol and outright hate that have been directed at her just because of who she is, because of a fictional character she portrayed, echoing in her mind constantly. Does she want to willingly put herself in a group of people of whom even a small part is _that_?

“K?”

“I'm here.” She sighs.

“Hang in there, okay?” Daisy sounds at a loss, and it's just as well. Kelly honestly doesn't even know what she wants to hear from her that might make this better. “You've got all kinds of time to think about it. And you know how to reach me if you need anything.”

“Yeah. Thank you. Really.”

 

In the end, she agrees. Ten months after that phone call, she climbs off a plane and walks into Star Wars Celebration Chicago with her head held high. It's her only choice. As terrified as a large part of her is about the welcome she'll receive, she also refuses to let the voices of dissent win. If even one person is happy to see her, she tells herself, it will have been worth it.

She explores the convention hall, and fewer people recognize her than she might have thought, but that's okay. It's nice not be mobbed.

And it gives her more time to look around, to gape at what she sees. Cosplay is everywhere, of course, but there are _so many_ Rose Ticos all around her. Both the familiar yellow Resistance tech jumpsuit and the blue First Order uniform, but others, too: a Rose in an X-wing costume, one a Jedi, another in Princess Leia's metal bikini. And every age too, from a woman old enough to be Kelly's grandmother to tiny little girls toddling along behind their parents.

It brings tears to her eyes, and she has to duck into a bathroom to wipe them away before anyone can stop and ask if she's okay.

It's when she comes out again that someone spots her and yells her name, rushes over and starts gushing about how Rose is her favorite character, how amazing it was that she came from being nothing special to helping save the entire Resistance. How much the first major Star Wars female character of color really means. The girl asks for a photo, and Kelly is glad to wrap an arm around her and take several, surreptitiously blinking away tears the whole time. A line forms, and soon dozens of people are crowded around, practically worshiping her, and it takes her breath away to know this can still happen, for her and for Rose Tico.

Eventually, her handler steps in and whisks her away. She has a panel to attend, one she had been convinced to help plan on harassment and bullying in fan circles and how to deal with the issues. She and Daisy and John tell their stories, joined by a multitude of fans who have experienced the same bigotry, followed by a sort of round table discussion. The audience is so responsive, so sympathetic for those on stage and angry on their behalf, it brings her to tears again right there in front of everyone.

The next day is the Episode IX panel, and though everything is still so tightly under wraps (they won't even reveal the title until the end), Kelly is so proud to be able to stand there and announce that Rose Tico will be back and more badass than ever, that she and Kelly and others like them are not going anywhere.

She lets the thunderous applause wash over her, so thankful to have again found her home here.


End file.
